Murals in St Stephens Church, Nessebar, Bulgaria

 Many of the churches in the old city of Nessebar, Bulgaria, have an entry fee, as they are classed as museums, and all come under the UNESCO World Heritage site. I visited the old city a couple of times, see my blog, before deciding which church to visit.

I chose St Stephens as it seemed to be the best for murals. Entry is €4.60, although you can get cheaper tickets by buying combos for 2 or more sites. 

The entrance foyer -

The church itself is rather small. 

There are murals everywhere. Many are linked to the Virgin's life.

Nessebar World Heritage city, Bulgaria

 Nessebar World Heritage city is located on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is north of the city of Burgas. The ancient city is located on a promontory which is reached by a causeway from the modern town of Nessebar. 

The old town is full of ancient monuments and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1983. From UNESCO : "Situated on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea, the more than 3,000-year-old site of Nessebar was originally a Thracian settlement (Menebria). At the beginning of the 6th century BC, the city became a Greek colony. The city’s remains, which date mostly from the Hellenistic period, include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, an agora and a wall from the Thracian fortifications. Among other monuments, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea. Wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical of the Black Sea architecture of the period."

The old town was actually on an island before the isthmus was built. It is less than 1 km long. The streets are cobbled. Local cars are allowed in, but buses have to stop outside. The first time I went, I just wandered around. Looking at the old town from across the causeway -

The windmill is now a museum -

Walls of the old town -

There are dozens of old buildings and ancient monuments. There are 17 sites on the tourist leaflet. I counted at least 11 churches. Most of those are now classed as museums and along with the actual museum, there is an entry fee. You can pay a ticket for any combination of sites. So on my first visit I just walked around to get an overall feel.

Many buildings have been restored and I found them a bit too "pretty"!

St Stephens

Close up of the construction -

St John the Baptist

Holy archangels Michael & Gabriel

Some wooden houses -

Christ Pantocrator in different lights -

Side and front view of St Sophia Basilica (Old Metropolis) , which has stone columns and large arched windows -

On my next visit I decided to walk around the town along the coast. An old windmill -

This Orthodox church still has services -

Church Dormition of Theotokos

I then did some reading and decided I would visit St Stephen Church - see separate blog.

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Studlagil basalt column canyon, East Iceland

Studlagil Canyon is an impressive river canyon with basalt columns. It is located in East Iceland. 

The Jokulsa a Dal (Jokla) river in East Iceland runs through the valley of Jokuldalur. It used to be Iceland’s longest glacial river and one of the most sediment heavy. Water comes from the largest glacier in Iceland. Then the Halslon Reservoir was constructed. It was formed by 3 different concrete faced, rock filled embankment dams and is the largest of its type in Europe. The reservoir began to fill in 2006. Water from the river was diverted to Flotsdalur station the power the Karahnjukar hydropower plant and an aluminium smelter. Aluminium is imported to Iceland for smelting as power is so cheap. A lot of data centres have also started in Iceland.

It was only after 2006 - 2009 that the water level dropped signficantly enough to reveal basalt columns and cliffs. But it didn't become known until 2016 when an Icelandic photographer and travel writer published material about the canyon. It then began to get popular and become a tourist attraction.

The easiest access is from the west or left bank. There is no charge to go in, but there is a charge for vehicles entering the car park. The is access from the east bank, but this entails a 5 km walk from the car park. First view from the observation platform at the car park -

The east bank path -

It is a basalt column canyon. The hexagonal basalt columns were formed by the slow cooling and contraction of thick lava flows from volcanic activity. The Studlagil columns are some of the largest and best in Iceland. They rise several metres from the river bed.

The milky turquoise blue river flows through the valley. The colour is from the glacial silt suspended in the water. Before the river was dammed, it was sediment heavy and muddy brown. 

From the car park several long flights of metal steps lead down to a viewpoint over the canyon. There are trails further down with viewing platforms down and eventually you get to the last viewing platform before steps down to the river bank. It was so impressive.  

View from river level -

Looking back at the bottom staircase with a viewing platform on the rocky pillar -

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See my blog of the basalt columns on the south coast of Iceland.

My blog of the Giants Causeway basalt columns in Northern Ireland.

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